“I remember the sign out there said Fairview. And then father changed it to Lihue Hotel and then to the Kauai Inn.” (William Harrison Rice II)
An 1890 newspaper article noted, “A resort for Tourists and Travelers situated about a mile from Nawiliwili, upon the slope of a hill. The location is specially fortunate.”
“The Hotel is 40×26 an 8ft. veranda round the house. On the first floor is a large reception room, light and airy dining room and a cosy billiard room.”
“In the rear of these rooms is the culinary department, which is fitted up with all the conveniences. The second floor is devoted to sleeping rooms. Six in all. Bath room with hot and cold water.”
“The Hotel is one of the most convenient resorts for tourists, and reflects great credit on the architect Mr PA Anderson. [C]onnected with the hotel is a livery stable where you can get saddle horses or teams for excursion parties.”
“Mr CW Spitz the proprietor has not spared money or pains to make ‘The Fairview’ the best on the Islands.” (Hawaiian Gazette, April 29, 1890)
A native of Hungary, Charles W. Spitz (1854-1942) immigrated to Hawai‘i in 1880, following a long voyage around Cape Horn, and soon found employment at Kilauea Sugar Plantation on Kauai.
The Fairview Hotel (initially opened by Charles W Spitz in 1890) was the first full-fledged hotel on Kauai providing rooms and a restaurant. However, a year later, the newspaper reported, ‘Bankruptcy of CW Spitz’.
This was followed in an 1891 newspaper advertisement noted “For Sale!” “Fairview Hotel” by Theo J Lansing, Assignee Bankrupt Estate of CE Spitz. (Daily Bulletin, June 26, 1891) (Spitz later branched into the automobile business.)
Spitz sold the Fairview Hotel in 1894 William H Rice. Rice is a descendant of a missionary teacher who came to the Hawaiian Islands in 1841; he was also the sheriff of Lihue for forty-three years. (Watumull Oral History)
Rice renamed it Lihue Hotel. In 1926, Rice rebuilt the original building to include a number of rooms and suites of various sizes. An additional building was constructed to house the hotel lobby, dining room and kitchen. The capacity of the hotel rose to 100 people. (Soboleski)
In those days, an operation had to be self-sufficient and a farm behind the hotel raised cattle, pigs and chickens along with fruits and vegetable grown for the restaurant. After Rice’s death in 1946, the family sold the hotel to Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company. (Kauai Museum)
In 1948, Lihue Hotel was renovated and renamed Kauai Inn, which remained in operation on Rice Street until 1963. (Soboleski)
Later, Inter-Island “made an effort to sell the Inn, without much success. … [I]ts location was fine. But most visitors to Hawaii want to be on the beach, no matter what Island they’re on.” (Dudley Child, Inter-Island Resorts, Advertiser, Oct 17, 1965))
In 1960, a new ten-story hotel, Inter-Island’s Kauai Surf, opened, thus signifying the beginning of Kauai’s commitment to tourism. (Salazar)
Inter-Island Resorts then moved “five of the double-deck hotel buildings from Kauai Inn to the Kauai Surf. … [They] cut each building in half, move it down to the beach area and reassemble it there. …”
“[T]he buildings will eventually surround the Kalapaki Beach lagoon which fronts the hotel.” (Advertiser, Nov 22, 1963)
“With the old site of the Inn cleared, Inter-Island negotiated its exchange with American Factors for 60 acres of plantation property surrounding Kauai Surf.” (Advertiser, Oct 17, 1965)
By 1970, the annual visitor count for Kauai was up to 426,000 and tourism workers outnumbered those on Kauai sugar plantations for the first time. Resorts at Po‘ipu, Hanalei, and Wailua were built to host these visitors.
The Coco Palms served as the setting for Elvis Presley’s, “Blue Hawaii,” which, along with other films, helped to popularize the island. (Strazar)
